Syrian government and rebel delegates at the opening session of talks in the Kazakh capital Astana have both called for a shaky ceasefire to be bolstered, but differed starkly on what purpose the truce would serve.
The talks, sponsored by government allies Russia and Iran and opposition backer Turkey, should consolidate the ceasefire for a limited period, the head of the government delegation said in an opening statement reported by Syrian state news agency SANA.
The ceasefire should allow rebel groups to engage in "national reconciliation" and join "the political process" to be separated from Islamic State and the al-Qaeda-linked Fatah al-Sham Front, Bashar al-Jaafari said.
Those terms have previously been used by the government side to refer to deals under which rebel-held towns accepted government control and elections held by the government, which the opposition and its outside backers have dismissed as a sham.
Opposition chief negotiator Mohammed Alloush said his team had come to Astana to ensure genuine implementation of the ceasefire, brokered by Russia and Turkey, which went into force at the end of December.
The ceasefire was needed in order to start work on a political settlement that should involve the departure of President Bashar al-Assad and the "ruling gang," Alloush told delegates seated around a large circular table in Astana's five-star Ricos hotel.
"We have come here to consolidate the ceasefire as a first stage in that process. We will not move on to any further steps unless that is genuinely implemented on the ground," Alloush said in a video of his opening statement published on social media by an opposition advisor.
Alloush lashed out at Iran, one of the sponsors of the talks, saying its forces and proxy militias must be withdrawn from Syria and should be blacklisted as terrorist organisations.
Opening the talks earlier, Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov told delegates that it was up to all concerned to make the breakthrough "that the Syrian people deserve."
